Halifax Removes Controversial Cornwallis Statue From Local Park

A statue of Halifax’s controversial military founder Edward Cornwallis has been removed from the park that also bears his name.

Halifax council voted 12-4 on Tuesday to “temporarily” remove the bronze statue and put it into storage.

Workers could be seen Wednesday morning setting up a crane and scaffolding around the bronze figure in preparation for its removal.

Cornwallis is a polarizing figure viewed by some as an honourable leader who founded Halifax in 1749, while others see him as the military commander of a bloody and barbaric extermination campaign against the Mi’kmaq people.

In October 1749, Cornwallis issued an order that came to be known as the scalping proclamation – where his government would pay a bounty to anyone who killed a Mi’kmaq adult or child.

Cornwallis died in office in 1776 while serving as governor of Gibraltar.

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